Some food additives may be harmful to children’s health

Related Articles

Families should reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals found in food colourings, preservatives and packaging materials as a growing body of research shows that they may harm children’s health, according to a policy statement and technical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released online recently.

The statement also suggests improvements to the food additives regulatory system, including updating the scientific foundation of the US Food and Drug Adminis-tration’s (FDA) safety assessment programme and retesting all previously approved chemicals.

Dr Leonardo Trasande is an associate professor of paediatrics, environmental medicine and population health at NYU School of Medicine. As an AAP Council on Environmental Health member and lead author of the policy statement, he tells us more about these concerns.

What are the growing number of studies showing us?

Over the past two decades, an accumulating body of science suggests some food additives can interfere with a child’s hormones, growth and development. In 2015, the Endocrine Society released a scientific statement about endocrine-disrupting chemicals that reviewed over 1,300 studies. The statement raised concerns that these chemicals disrupt hormones and cause disease.

Potentially harmful effects of food additives are of special concern for children because they are more sensitive to chemical exposures as they eat and drink more, relative to body weight, than adults do, and are still growing and developing. An early injury to their organ systems can have lifelong and permanent consequences.

What additives does the statement highlight?

Some additives are put directly in foods, while “indirect” additives may include chemicals from plastic, glues, dyes, paper, cardboard, and different types of coatings used for processing and packaging. The additives of most concern, based on rising research evidence cited in the report, include:

BPA is now banned in baby bottles and sippy cups. Photo: Filepic

• Bisphenols, such as BPA, used to harden plastic containers and line metal cans, which can act like oestrogen in the body and potentially change the timing of puberty, decrease fertility, increase body fat, and affect the nervous and immune systems. BPA is now banned in baby bottles and sippy cups.

• Phthalates, which makes plastic and vinyl tubes used in industrial food production flexible, may affect male genital development, increase childhood obesity, and contribute to cardiovascular disease. In 2017, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission banned the use of some phthalates in child-care products such as teething rings.

• Perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), used in grease-proof paper and cardboard food packaging, may reduce immunity, birth weight and fertility. Research also shows PFCs may affect the thyroid system, key to metabolism, digestion, muscle control, brain development and bone strength.

• Perchlorate, added to some dry food packaging to control static electricity, is known to disrupt thyroid function, early life brain development and growth.

• Artificial food colours, common in children’s food products, may be associated with worsened attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Studies cited in the report found a significant number of children who cut synthetic food colourings from their diets showed decreased ADHD symptoms.

• Nitrates/nitrites are used to preserve food and enhance colour, especially in cured and processed meats. These chemicals can interfere with thyroid hormone production and the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen in the body. Nitrates and nitrites have also been linked with gastrointestinal and nervous system cancers.

Why are some additives like artificial colours banned in some countries, but not in others?

In regards to chemicals found in our food, the laws originally put in place were thought to be enough to protect our health. Since then, science has suggested that the current framework does not work to protect us adequately.

The US allows the use of more than 10,000 additives to preserve, package, or modify the taste, appearance, texture or nutrients in foods. Many were grandfathered in for approval during the 1950s, and roughly 1,000 additives are used under a “Generally Recognised as Safe” designation process that doesn’t require FDA approval.

In the report, we urge a number of steps that can be taken such as more regulation on the side of the FDA. Some would require changes to the laws, while others can be done by the FDA.

In meantime, what does the AAP recommend?

There are safe and simple steps that families can take to reduce exposure. Studies show a substantial decrease in exposure can make a difference. These steps include:

• Buying and serving more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, and fewer processed meats – especially during pregnancy.

• Since heat can cause plastics to leak BPA and phthalates into food, avoid microwaving food or beverages, including infant formula and pumped human milk, in plastic when possible. Also try to avoid putting plastics in the dishwasher.

• Use alternatives to plastic, such as glass or stainless steel, when possible.

• Washing hands thoroughly before and after touching food, and cleaning all fruits and vegetables that cannot be peeled.

Families can also show their concern by not buying certain products and asking manufacturers to make changes. Often, we hear from industry about the costs of safer alternatives, but the benefits of prevention may be even greater, as we recognised in a study back in 2014 examining the tradeoffs of removing BPA from aluminium cans. – The Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Service